Akitoki and the Demon Blade
by sango1157
Summary: Kagome is shocked when Hojo shows her his family tree- and her name is in it! 500 years ago somebody named Kagome married a Hojo Akitoki. But with Kagome's frequent visits to the past, it couldn't be her could it? Adaptation from a former episode, enjoy!
1. The Hojo Family Tree

I love to write, but I'm still trying to get used to writing with FanFiction, so please bear with me. Also, I thought I would mention that (surprise, surprise!) I do not own InuYasha. And don't forget… Read and Review! ~Sango1157

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The Hojo Family Tree

"Death will saturate the air if the demon blade awakens once again. Then, only purity can cause their mighty reign to end."

***

Hojo Akitoki gave up on escape, and spun around to face the moth demon. To this point, his only advantage had been the moth's large wingspan which had slightly hindered the moth's progression through the forest. Despite this, the moth was much faster than him. He had no choice but to fight.

Fighting wasn't truly in his nature, but he had come accustomed to it. His father had always told him his true calling was to be a priest. Whether or not that was true, fate had not allowed that wish to be granted.

In a quick deft movement, he pulled out a dulled steel sword at his hip, despite a sword wrapped in fine silk cloth that was slug across his back.

He tried to analyze his situation. The moth would be too strong for him, so he would have to make the first move. His battle cry filled the air as he lunged toward the moth, aiming for its wing.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins; he would fight and win. This moth was the least of his problems.

In the last second before the sword met the scaly wings, the creature jumped out of the way.

Frustrated, he made a reckless swing towards its abdomen that was easily avoided. In retaliation, the moth swung its head toward him, just managing to clip the side of his jaw with a short horn that jutted out of its head. With a yell he jumped backwards a couple steps and touched his jaw to check its condition. It was bleeding.

The moth wasn't about to give him time to recuperate. It charged at him, one of its jagged legs missing his throat by inches.

He continued to stumble back, until his back ran into a tree. He could have turned around and ran, but that would have put him in the same predicament he had been in before.

He thrust his blade forward with all his strength towards the heart of the creature. But instead of the blade meeting the moth's scaly hide, one of its legs came out of nowhere and knocked the sword from his grasp. Backed up against a tree, he was defenseless and cornered.

He looked around wildly, refusing to allow this to be the end. He swallowed his pride and yelled, "Help!"

In his last attempts he tried to kick the moth, but the impact did no good. The moth hovered over him and slowly brought a jagged leg across his chest. It was almost playing with him, savoring the kill.

As he cried out in pain, he thought he heard something move through the air. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" He saw a flash of red, and then the moth was in pieces on the floor of the forest. He sank to his knee, trying to will his adrenaline to settle down. He only knew one person with that attack.

"InuYasha?" he asked.

"You're still around? To be honest I'm kind of surprised you haven't been killed off yet."

Akitoki closed his eyes in relief as he tried to regain his breath. It was definitely InuYasha. "I'm still around," he assured InuYasha as he picked up his head. "Thanks."

"Yeah yeah." InuYasha could tell Akitoki was losing a lot of blood. Besides, if Kagome found out he had left Akitoki half dead in the forest, it would probably be hours before she stopped repeating his least favorite word. And believe me, it might just be three letters long, but it involved a lot of pain.

"Let's get you some help." He suggested as he picked Akitoki in his arms. Akitoki's kimono was torn and bloody, and his chest was still bleeding. To say the least, he was not in good shape. Without waiting for a reply, InuYasha broke out in a sprint towards what he considered his home village.

"Do you know of a Kaede?" Akitoki weakly asked as they practically flew across the ground.

InuYasha looked down at Akitoki in wonder. "Yeah I know her alright."

"Is she far?" Akitoki asked, barely choking out the last word.

"Not at all," InuYasha assured him as Akitoki slipped out of consciousness. "Not at all."

***

"Hey Kagome, I was looking at my family tree, and I saw the weirdest thing!" I couldn't help it. As I peered over Hojo's shoulder, my jaw nearly hit the ground. Connected to the name Hogo Akitoki, was the name Kagome. "It was five hundred years ago, but I thought it was kind of funny that I have an ancestor named Kagome! See, she's married to somebody named Akitoki!" I swallowed nervously. For me, leaping through a distance of five hundred years only took a couple seconds.

"Oh," I said trying to pull off a smile, "That's neat Hojo!" To be honest it was not neat at all; it was kind of alarming. I had met Akitoki before when I was in the past, and he wasn't married then. Actually, he had just been a boy, somewhere around my age. I shook my head playfully and laughed along with the Hojo I knew from the present era. It was a silly coincidence. There was definitely nothing to make of it.

***

I plopped my stuff out of the well, as InuYasha helped me over the edge. "Took you long enough," he grumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, missed you too," I said sarcastically.

"Kagome!"

"Hey Shippo!" I said in a bright tone. At least somebody was happy to see me.

Shippo jumped up into my arms and I gave him a little squeeze. He was only the cutest little fox demon of all time.

"Guess what Kagome!" Shippo exclaimed.

"What?" I asked confused. I glanced over to InuYasha for an answer, but to no avail.

Sighing I turned my attention back to Shippo. "So what happened Shippo?"

"Akitoki is here!"

My heart stopped for a second. Akitoki was there? "As in Hojo Akitoki?" I asked, hoping to be denied.

"Yeah, but he's really hurt. InuYasha found him in the forest pretty beat up."

"Oh no! Is he okay?"

"Yeah, Kaede says he's going to be fine. He's been here a couple days."

As much as my heart reached out for the poor guy, what I saw on Hojo's family tree freaked me out a little bit. Just my luck that the same day I saw the Hojo family tree, Akitoki showed up. I knew it was probably coincidence, but honestly! There are only so many Kagomes in the world. I took a deep breath of reassurance. If I did end up marrying Akitoki, I would have to consent to it first, right?

"He's not married yet is he?" I blurted out.

That got InuYasha's attention. I blushed. That sentence came out really wrong.

"Are you okay Kagome?" InuYasha asked, "You haven't hit your head on anything lately, right?"

"No, I'm fine. It's nothing."

InuYasha looked at me suspiciously for a second, and then tore his eyes away from me to gaze at the village. "Come on, let's go."

I picked up my big yellow backpack and slung it over my shoulder. I couldn't help but be a little nervous. Me marry Hojo's ancestor? That would be the day.

"Guess what Kagome!" Shippo started as we neared the village. "Akitoki has these pickle things, and he say's eating them helps with stomach aches!"

"He said that, did he?" I asked knowingly. Sounded a lot like the Hojo I knew from the present.

***

Akitoki looked different from the last time I had seen him. The silly smirk had been wiped off his face, and his hair had grown longer and was tied back in a low pony tail. His chin boar a lengthy scar and he seemed thinner than the last time I had seen him, as though he was in need of food. But he looked far from the helpless boy I once had viewed him as, his muscles were harder and leaner, and his skin slightly darker from being in the sun. He was a lot taller, and a lot older. "Kagome," Akitoki's face lightly smiled in surprise "I didn't realize you lived around here."

"Yep," I said, smiling. "You look so much older, but it hasn't even been a year since the last time we met, has it?"

"It feels like it's been ages, so much has happened." I didn't doubt it for a second. That goofy smirk he used to have seemed to have been permanently wiped off his face. "I just turned seventeen a little bit ago."

I had to look away. _I'm not going to marry him, so I don't need to freak out when he's nice to me. It's all coincidence. I just have to pretend I never saw his family tree._

"I heard you were injured, but it seems you're doing fine," I noticed.

"Believe me; it is all thanks to tremendous hospitality shown by your friends. If it wasn't for InuYasha and Kaede I would probably be dead."

"Indeed," added Kaede "his wounds are great, but nothing that won't be healed with time."

Shippo balled up his little fists, "I wish I had been there. I would have given that moth a beating he would never forget!"

"Huh? So it was a demon moth that attacked you?" I asked Akitoki. "I don't think I've actually seen one of those before."

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "It's not like it matters, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. What I want to know, is what brought you all the way out here in the first place."

Akitoki sighed. "It's a long story, believe me."

InuYasha narrowed his eyes, "We'll wait."

Akitoki raised his eyebrows as we all settled down waiting for the story, and Shippo jumped into my lap.

"It all began generations ago, when my great-great-great-great grandfather found a demon sword at the side of a mountain, a sword with the name Kon. The moment he touched the sword, as sayings go, he felt a mighty presence around him, one that only Budda himself could rival. In that moment he heard these words, or rather felt them inside of him; 'Death will saturate the air if the demon blade awakens once again. Then, only purity can cause their mighty reign to end.' Here is what my ancestors gathered from it: if the sword is to somehow awaken, it is crucial that we purify it, or doom will come to us all.

"After our family obtained the sword, horrible things started happening to our family. The first tragedy occurred when my great -great-great-great grandfather, the same one who had found the sword, was wrongfully accused and put to trial only to be beheaded. Other worse things have followed still. My family members have been the victims of pointless murders, even horrible feuds that have been triggered by misunderstandings. My own father and mother disappeared one morning, never to return. That was only four months ago."

My eyes widened and I gave a Shippo a little squeeze, but Akitoki pressed through the detail as though it held no anguish for him.

"These misfortunes have left our once noble name for a name of peasants. Now, only my sister and I remain, but she now has a family of her own under a different name. She is expecting her first child soon, and I refused to let the curse last long enough to touch her child.

"Two weeks ago, the cursed sword began to vibrate, releasing an enormous demonic aura. Now it is my duty to purify the sword, thus allowing my family to be relieved of our burden. Purifying it seemed a simple enough task, all I had to do was travel to Mt. Hakurei, a mountain known for its sacred aura. But you see, Mt. Hakurei has been destroyed, only days before I arrived, in some freak accident. Now I have no clue of where to go to purify the sword. I heard of a priestess Kaede who was wise in the realm of such things, so I have traveled to your lands."

I glanced at InuYasha in hopes to exchange a smirk, after all we only knew too well about Mt. Hakurei's 'freak accident.' My heart clenched as I saw InuYasha's eyes sadden and slip the floor. I had forgotten; it was the day of Mt. Hakurei collapsed that Kikyo died.

"So ye need somewhere to purify the sword?" asked Kaede. "Has an exorcism not worked?" Intrigued by the sword, Shippo got off my lap and started creeping toward it.

"No, believe me," answered Akitoki "we have tried and tried again. Exorcisms are not strong enough to purge the sword of its evil spirit."

"Hmm, let me see this sword ye speak of."

Akitoki took the sword off his back and placed it in front of him. It was covered by a fine purple cloth, and it bore an air of majesty. I had to hold my breath as he started to slip the sword out of its covering.

As soon as the silver surface of the blade was exposed to the air, InuYasha, out of nowhere, stood up and almost drunkenly started to make his way toward the sword.

"Quick!" demanded Kaede, "put the sword back into the sheath!"

As Akitoki quickly slide the blade back into its covering, I placed my hand on InuYasha's shoulder to try to keep him in place. He was completely oblivious to my hand until the sword was safely hidden inside the cloth. "You okay?" I whispered in his ear.

"Huh?" was the response I got as he brushed off my hand.

"You weren't kidding about the aura of the sword, Akitoki," Kaede said thoughtfully. "Had you left it exposed, no doubt InuYasha would have fallen captive to the Kon's demonic aura. Even Shippo seems to have been effected," she added with a smile.

I looked around the room to see Shippo rubbing his head and looking around all confused and cute.

I should be used to all the weirdness by now, but I had to ask. "So let me get this straight, a _sword_ just tried to posses the only two demons in the room?"

***

I shivered in the night air and scooted a little closer to the fire, so that the sparks landed just in front of my feet.

"Yes," said Miroku, "the sword's demonic aura was incredibly strong. It could probably take hold of the soul of any demon, save Naraku himself."

"Plus, the legacy Akitoki told us about seemed pretty serious," Sango said gravely.

"So, I don't get it. The words said "_their_ mighty reign will end." Who is "their?" asked Shippo, pleased about being a contributing factor in the conversation.

Miroku looked grave. "I wish I could answer that Shippo, I wondered that myself."

"So I guess the question is, should we help out or not?" asked Sango. We all kind of glanced at InuYasha, who was carefully staying out of the conversation.

"InuYasha," I sighed "You're going to have to weigh in eventually."

He looked up and kind of glared at me. "Here's how I see it. It's _his_ quest for _his_ family, so _he_ should take care of it. That or he should just throw the stupid sword away, which would probably solve everything anyway."

I rolled my eyes. "If I have to explain that to you, then there's no way you'd get it anyway."

"Get what?" he asked snidely.

"Why he can't just throw away the sword!" I said, my voice rising in frustration.

"Look you two," Sango said pointedly, "I get what InuYasha means about Akitoki completing this on his own because, after all, it's his own burden. It just seems wrong to let a wounded guy go through more trails because of the mountain _we_ collapsed."

"She's got a point," put in Miroku, "Plus, we hardly want death to saturate the air."

"You don't have to convince me," I murmered. "Look InuYasha, it won't even take long. We'll be on the lookout for shards the whole way, so it will be like killing two birds with one stone." Kaede had informed us of a place called the Furae Shine, where we could take the sword to purge it of its evil spirits. It wouldn't be that hard or take that long, so I don't know what his deal was. He was being more difficult than normal, which is definitely saying something.

"Yeah whatever," he muttered and walked away. I watched him leave, too exhausted to figure out what was up with him. And they say teenage girls are moody.


	2. A Journey Brewing

A Journey Brewing

"Wake up Kagome!"

I groaned as a twenty pound fox demon jumped up and down on my stomach.

"What is it Shippo?" I asked groggily.

"Want to get some breakfast? Kaede has it all ready by her hut! She's says we'll probably be leaving right after breakfast."

I groaned and stretched. This was going to be a long day.

"Is it warm outside yet?" I asked as I started to get out of my pajamas and into some real clothes.

"Yeah it is. Oh, and don't expect InuYasha to be at breakfast." I gave him a questioning look. "He's sulking."

I couldn't help but sigh. "What is it this time?"

"Probably doesn't want to help Akitoki. He's so selfish." Shippo huffed and in one dignified motion, crossed his arms and put his chin up to the ceiling.

I pulled a brush through my long black hair. "Oh well Shippo, I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm going to pack a couple things and then I'll meet you guys up for breakfast. How does that sound?" Maybe I'd take a little walk too, it was going to be a long time before I got another chance at alone time.

"Okay Kagome!"

I smiled as he bounded out of the room. I had to admit, I loved that little guy.

I grabbed my bow, and then looked through my yellow backpack to make sure we had enough food and bandages. To my surprise, I saw a picture of my three closest friends from the present, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi. _I wonder how this got in here. _Sighing, I slid the photo into one of the outside pockets of my book bag and continued outside.

I had walked out of the little hut barefoot, and I was about a hundred feet out before I realized I left my shoes behind. I guess that's what I get for getting way too used to the wild.

I decided not to go back. Walking barefoot wasn't so bad anyway, so I sucked it up. Plus, I could soak my feet in the pond, which would feel amazing. I changed course, heading toward the pond.

As I neared the water's edge, I noticed somebody there, sitting beside the lapping water.

"Akitoki?" I called out softly.

Immediately he turned around alarmed, but he smiled when he saw me. I came up beside him and sat, letting my feet slide into the water.

"Nervous?" I asked him.

He looked at me surprised. "No, I don't think so. Just ready to get this over with."

"You know, you're a lot different from last time we met." I said with a smile.

"Yeah, well you haven't changed at all. Still running around with demons?" He asked with a smirk.

I laughed. "Of course. InuYasha might be all big and scary, but Shippo couldn't be evil if he tried," I laughed.

He laughed as he tossed a rock into the pond. We sat there like that for a second.

"Do you know how to skip rocks on the water?" I asked suddenly.

He looked at me quizzingly. "What do you mean?"

I found a flat rock and spun it towards the water, and it skipped three times.

He caught on really quick. To be honest, when we were done fifteen minutes later, he was quite a bit better than me.

I needed that. I hadn't laughed that much in a long time.

***

Still in need of breakfast, I headed back toward the village after saying goodbye to Akitoki. As fate would have it, breakfast was going to have to wait a little longer.

I was walking along, when I noticed something bright red in the trees. You'd think InuYasha would try wearing something a little less conspicuous.

"InuYasha?" I called softly, knowing he would hear me.

When he looked down at me, I could see what Shippo meant. He looked more distressed than anything, not exactly angry. "What is it?" he asked. At least he didn't _sound_ upset.

"Still sulking?" I teased.

He looked grumpy, and annoyed. "No, what gave you that idea?" he retorted looking away from me again. Jeez, Shippo wasn't kidding.

"I talked to Kaede. It isn't smart for him to go traveling again for at least a month, but he doesn't think he can stay and heal because of the urgency of his mission. He needs our help."

"So what do you want to do?" he asked, sounding upset. "Forget about the jewel shards and let Naraku find them first?"

So _that's_ what was bothering him. "No, of course not," I said, sitting at the base of the tree he was in. "But Akitoki wouldn't even need our help if we hadn't destroyed Mt. Hakurei."

"_I _didn't collapse the mountain, Naraku did," he said, sounding slightly defeated.

I sighed. I could tell I had won this one, seeing as InuYasha wasn't in my face yelling. "Want to get some breakfast?" I asked.

"Fine," he muttered and jumped out of the tree, landing beside me. "No shoes?" he asked skeptically.

I laughed, finally heading towards breakfast.

***

After a delicious breakfast and a couple routine goodbyes, we were off. The whole gang ended up coming, because we figured we would split from Akitoki once the blade was purified, without backtracking to the village. So we were off, Akitoki and Sango on Kirara, Miroku carrying Shippo, and InuYasha carrying me on his back.

Mostly it was tiring and a little uncomfortable, and InuYasha wasn't exactly chatty, but I knew better than to complain. Plus, it felt nice to be on the move again. As much as I enjoy the free time, there is something satisfying about feeling like you're getting something accomplished.

The sun had fallen off its peak when Inuyasha spoke, disgust echoing through his voice, "Look at him, he looks greener than the trees."

"Huh?" I glanced up to Kirara, Sango, and Akitoki, and sure enough, even with my eyes I could tell that Akitoki wasn't taking well to the air. "Oh, well. Come to think of it, I'm surprised that even you don't suffer from motion sickness when riding Kirara."

"Motion sickness?"

"It's when you go really fast, and the motion of things going by makes you sick. People like you guys who aren't used to the high speeds are more susceptible to it."

Inuyasha smirked, knowing my mistake. "So, Kagome, this isn't fast enough for you?"

Well, that sure silenced me. "Oh. I guess that's a good point."

"Face it Kagome, the guy's a wimp."

I rested my head on his back as I watching the scenery go by. "I don't think so. He's stepping up to the challenge, and I think he's doing the best he can. I think—that he's kind of brave."

"Brave?" I knew he was angry, because I could feel him tense. "He managed to get about six body guards to help him complete his own personal family problems! That's not bravery, that's pathetic."

"Knowing when you need to ask for help is a good quality to have Inuyasha."

"Hmph."

I could feel Inuyasha's agitation practically radiating from him. "I can tell you have something else to say, so just say it."

"It's just, humans shouldn't play around with demon swords. Just look at him! He's got this big sense of pride, taking care of a demon sword, but if he really had any pride he'd do it on his own."

"InuYasha," I said, trying to not show my pain at his jab at humans, "he's doing the best he can. Remember, it's our fault this is a difficult task at all. He's not as weak and pathetic as you're making him out to be."

I don't know what InuYasha had to say to that, but I'm pretty glad I didn't have to hear it, because Sango interrupted us.

"Kagome, InuYasha!" Sango called from Kirara, "Miroku is getting tired and we could use a break, so we are stopping at a tea house ahead!"

"We're taking a break already? You humans are such a pain to be with." InuYasha muttered to himself.

"Okay!" I yelled up to Sango, doing my best to ignore what InuYasha had just said.

***

A figure in dark clothing dropped from a forest tree onto the mossy ground in a steady crouch. "They've left." The voice was gravelly and low, and the tone threatening.

An eerie, unnatural silence blanketed the forest as another figure dropped out of concealment.

"What direction do they follow?" The new figure asked, steadily and carefully.

"East," answered the first figure.

A moment passes, and without a single rustle another dark clothed figure dropped from the trees, a smirk hidden behind the cloth covering over his face. "Right toward us."

The low, gravelly voice answered again, pleasure dripping from his words. "Yes, straight for the Furae Shrine."

From in the trees came a new voice. "Excellent. Then what are we waiting for?"

A forth dark figure dropped from the trees, as the other three nodded in consent.


	3. Dumplings and Disasters

Dumplings and Disasters

We stopped for a bite to eat at a lovely authentic tea house. At least, it would have felt lovely and authentic if InuYasha wasn't doing his best to ruin it for the rest of us. I ended up sitting at a table with Akitoki, as far as I could possibly get from InuYasha.

It was a table for two, but Athere was little else to it. It was wooden, as were the chairs, and they were not very fancy, although the whole set was plenty sturdy. Hojo's color slowly came back from his woozy trip on Kirara as we began to eat some delicious sweet dumplings.

"So," I said, partly trying to make conversation and partly curious, "you say the demon blade has caused your family misfortune?"

He looked at me with a small smile, "Why do you ask?"

"I just," I looked away (not toward InuYasha but out the window) wondering at the wisdom of what I was about to say, "I don't know, I wondered how you know it's the sword that brought your family danger. Couldn't the sword have nothing to do with it, couldn't it be just plain bad luck?" I looked back toward him, hoping I hadn't offended him in any way.

Instead of offended, he looked more or less intrigued. "It's interesting that you bring that up, normally I'm not one to believe in superstitious swords. Yet, the evidence surrounding the sword is too strong to ignore. Remember me mentioning my great-great—well very great grandfather? The sword had not been in his possession long when he was beheaded for something he didn't do. His only child, a son, didn't find it for years, but when he did find it, he remembered the story of the sword his father told him. Yet, it wasn't long after he had the sword that his wife was randomly murdered by an angry drunken man."

I looked away again as he began eating another dumpling. It all seemed very sad, but it wasn't enough to base all this on, was it?

"You look skeptical," he smiled.

I smiled sheepishly. Were my emotions that plainly written on my face?

"Just keep listening, hear me out okay? The son only had one son and one daughter, but the daughter, a month after her mother's death, came down with a strange incurable disease and died within three days. So then, only that son was left, who would be none other than my great-great grandfather. He had a large family with many children, and when his father died of natural causes, he took the sword in. That same night one of his children was murdered by a neighbor, a neighbor who said our family had killed one of their children when we had done no such thing. When the fighting ceased, only him and his son, my great-grandfather, was left. He also had many children, but in the end, only a son was left. This has continued up to present day. My parents disappeared only a short while after my grandparents died and they inherited the blade. I found it myself only two weeks ago, and I have to purify it before anything happens to my sister."

"Wow. I had no idea, Hojo. It's a wonder you're able to laugh at all after all of that."

For some reason, he looked at me as though I was a puzzle waiting to be solved. "I have to keep living Kagome, I can't just give up and mourn all the time."

"I know that, it's just, forgive me, by why haven't you thrown away the blade if misfortune comes to who possesses it, not necessarily just your family?"

He looked at me perplexed. "Kagome, I thought you of all people would understand."

"No! I understand, it's just, I'm merely amazed that you would follow through when it bares such a curse."

"Do you think it is sick that I put my sister in danger to try and purify the sword?"

He almost seemed to have a devilish look on his face, like he might have just been teasing, but I couldn't be sure. "No no no no no! I—" I tried to pull myself together, but I didn't know what to say. I looked at him desperately, willing him to understand what I meant without having to come up with words.

He only smiled again. "My sister and I had a discussion about throwing the sword away, but neither of us could bare this curse going to another family. We are both ready to die to rid the world of the wretched thing."

I smiled, amazed at their bravery, and was about to say something when Shippo jumped on the table and yelled, "InuYasha hit me!"

I have never meant an eye-roll that much in my life. Really annoyed, and slightly appalled, I glared at InuYasha.

InuYasha was still indignant from whatever Shippo had done. "The stupid rug-rat wouldn't shut up! _Somebody's_ got to teach the kid some manners!" I could tell that it was a jab at me, as well as a insult to Shippo.

I sighed. "Sit boy."

I smirked at Akitoki as InuYasha feel right smack into the ground. Akitoki was grinning, if not slightly confused. "Kagome, if you don't mind I'll be right back."

It was my turn to be slightly confused, so I nodded to Akitoki, then turned back to InuYasha as Akitoki disappeared out the doors.

Frustrated and suppressing a yell, I said, "I don't understand why you have to act like a totally idiot sometimes!"

"You're calling _me_ the idiot here? Let me just—"

"Sit boy."

"What was that for?!"

I looked at InuYasha on the ground for a second, then turned my back on him. "InuYasha, sometimes I just don't want to hear it." And I walked out the door.

The outside was pleasant and quiet, with puffy white clouds in a blue sky. The tea house happened to be in the bottom of a large dried-out ravine, so it was almost like we were surrounded by big red walls of stone. I was taking in the sights, when I saw Akitoki sitting on a bench near the a more shallow part of the rock wall.

"Breath of fresh air?" I asked.

He looked startled to see me. "Yeah," he smiled.

"You don't mind…" I asked, gesturing to the bench.

"Not at all," he said, making room for me.

_ InuYasha needs to take a lesson on manners from this _g_uy_, I couldn't help but think.

"You know," he said, glancing at me, "you are part of a very complex group. I can't figure you guys out."

"Huh?"

"Just out of plain curiosity, what is your relationship with the half-demon, with InuYasha? At first, you seemed very close, but now I can't really tell."

I looked at him, deciding to make a story of it. "InuYasha and I… have grown compatible I guess you could say. It all started when I broke the Shikon Jewel by accident. Wow," I smiled, "that makes me sound like a clumsy fool. The jewel was inside a demon when I broke it, if that makes it any better.

"Anyway, we were kind of thrown into this hunt for its shards, because I can sense the jewel shards, and he has the brute strength to get them back. Of course at first he was only in it for himself, so he could use it to become fully demon."

"At first?"

"Yeah. He doesn't… want that anymore, I shouldn't think. We've become good friends over the time, and we're both trying to put the jewel together so we can destroy it. He's not so bad, you know, once you get to know him. Well, sometimes," I said with a laugh as I gestured inside.

Akitoki didn't laugh. "He doesn't want to help me though, does he?"

I looked at Akitoki a little startled, and then smiled. "No, you're right, he doesn't. But, he doesn't always know what's good for him either. Plus, I want to help, so he hasn't got much choice does he?"

Akitoki was still looking at me intently. "Do you care for him Kagome?"

Oh dear. "As a friend?" I asked sheepishly.

"Kagome, you know what I mean."

"Ummmm—"

Suddenly Akitoki was alert. "Shh," he said urgently, and I didn't need to be asked twice. Then, without warning, he grabbed my arm and jumped away from the wall, taking me with him. I landed on my hands and knees, and I could feel them scrape against the rocky ground.

Then, suddenly, behind me was loud crashing noise. I swiveled around to witness the bench split in two, with a large boulder on top of it. "Wha—" I started to say.

Akitoki gestured to the wall. "Thank goodness it's not a ninety degree angle to the top, or I wouldn't have had a chance to hear the boulder falling."

Shaken up, I looked back up to the top of the ravine, only to witness about thirty more boulders rolling toward us.

Akitoki must have seen them too, because we both bolted toward the tea house.

"InuYasha," I screamed, "help!"

It took only a moment before InuYasha stood between us and the boulders, taking his sword, the ___Tetsusaiga_, out of its sheath.

"Is that wise—" I started to yell, as InuYasha simultaneously yelled "Wind Scar!"

A blast of deadly wind shot towards the boulders, smashing them into tiny pieces, too small to see. And, unlike I had feared, the ravine stayed in as pristine shape as ever, causing me to marvel at InuYasha's skill. He had really learned to master that technique.

A second later, Miroku and Sango came running out of the building, followed by Shippo.

"What is it?" cried Miroku, alert and ready to fight with his staff.

I answered, trying to calm him. "Boulders fell over the edge, but InuYasha seems to have taken care of them."

InuYasha said, "Trust me, it was no coincidence." He was still at the ready, ___Tetsusaiga_ in his hand. Sango also joined their battle stance with her weapon, a deadly sort of boomerang called a hiraikotsu, ready at a seconds notice. Even Akitoki had pulled out a dulled blade, listening for danger.

InuYasha's suspicion alone was enough for me. "Come on Shippo," I said, "let's grab everything and then get out of here!"

I ran into the tea house, with Shippo on my heels. "Shippo do you see my bow?"

The old lady who owned the tea house looked at us, her dark eyes wide in wonder and fear. "Is there anything wrong?"

Shippo yelled, "Here it is!" as I answered, "We're not sure, but we think someone's after us!" I grabbed the bow Shippo found, and slung it over my shoulders. "Thanks for everything!" I said as I tried to find some money in my book bag to leave behind for the food.

I heard InuYasha's voice from outside, "Kagome quick!"

Giving up on counting it, I threw some money on the table and I yelled over my shoulder, "Thanks for the dumplings!"

I ran outside, and was surprised to see them all standing in the same places as I left them. For some reason, their heads were all tilted up to the sky, and for all I could tell they were watching the clouds change shape.

Of course, InuYasha noticed me right away. "There you are!" he said.

Miroku then saw me and must have decided to take charge, because he said, "Quick, let's move to the forest so it won't be able to track us so easily."

"It?" I asked.

"Look above you," Sango said.

My eyes shot upward, and for a second I only saw clear sky. Then I noticed a red thing in the sky moving toward us. "Is that a… bird?"

"I don't know," said InuYasha, "but something smells off. We should go."

Shippo made a show of sniffing the air as well, but his eyes grew wide as he said, "Something really does smell weird!"

InuYasha rolled his eyes and then glared at Shippo. "What did you think!? That I was _lying_ you little –" he stopped, cut off by something unknown to me. He sniffed the air, and in all seriousness said, "Explosives."

I should have ran right then, but curiosity got the best of me. I looked up in the sky, and saw that the red object was almost right over us, but swerving now a little like a kite. There was something dark in the center. Right as I started to squinting to see if that was a person strapped under the bird looking kite, the bombs feel.

* * *

So sorry about the cliff hanger, I really didn't want to end the chapter with a cliffy but couldn't make it work and still get as much suspense as I wanted. I'll try my hardest to get another chapter out soon! Please review, your reviews make me happy. ~Sango1157


	4. A Bigger Picture

A Bigger Picture

As fate would have it, the bombs feel directly in between me and the rest of the group. Thankfully, the bombs were only feudal era bombs, but that didn't mean it wasn't deadly, or scary as heck. And still—they packed a little punch.

The force of the bombs hit me and threw me forward. My bow had been thrown out of my hands a good ten feet farther, and I ran to grab it. By the time I had scrambled to my feet and grabbed my bow, the bombs were falling at a rapid pace, leaving smoke as a thick barrier. I couldn't see the group, and between the rock walls and the smoke, it looked like I had run into a dead end of an alleyway. I took my bow and, with a shaky hand, aimed an arrow at the bird/kite/Superman/whateveritwas. It was too far, and I missed.

"Kagome!" a voice yelled from the other side of the smoke. InuYasha.

I lowered my bow and tried to yell back to him, wanted to yell back to him, but my voice caught in my throat. The red thing was still circling over us, and I could see even more missiles coming down.

I didn't have time to see where they were exactly going to hit. So I did what I knew what I had to do to survive. However, surviving to me wasn't turning my back on my friends and running to save myself. I ran toward the smoke.

"KAGOME! Where are you?!" InuYasha seemed desperate with fear. For me?

"I'm okay!" I tried to yell as I ran into the smoke, but my voice was scratchy with fear. Bombs hit just to my left, pushing me down to the ground again on my side. I gasped for air and only breathed in smoke. Wiping the sweat that was now on my forehead with my arm, I leap up and kept running.

Finally, in what felt like forever (but couldn't have taken more than a few seconds), I made it to the other side of the smoke.

As soon as I saw them I knew something was wrong. Their faces looked at me in horror.

I didn't have time to look up, just time to try and run faster. Through the explosions I couldn't hear anything, but I saw InuYasha grab his blade and swing it right towards me, saying two words. Two words I'd seen him yell a thousand time.

Wind Scar.

An enormous deadly wind erupted from his blade. My heart clenched with fear. I had seen it hundreds of times, but I never dreamed that I would be on this side of it. I stopped running and stared at it, dropping to my knees. Had he not recognized me? Was this how I would die, by InuYasha?

I held my breath as the deadly wind hurled toward me, not know what to do, and at the same time knowing there was nothing I could. Then, at what felt like the last second, the wind curved upwards, and I watched as it obliterated at least twenty missiles that had been coming straight for me.

Suddenly, for I was in a little bit of a state of shock and didn't see him coming, InuYasha was in front of me, wrapping his red cloak around me. It was made out of hair from a fire rats, so I would protected at least from the heat.

"You okay, can you move?" he asked, kneeling down to me.

I took a deep breath that ended up being more of a cough. He hadn't been attacking me. He had saved me. I nodded. "Yeah."

He picked me up quickly, bridal style, and jumped back to the others and let me down.

I looked back into the sky. Our attacker had circled around and was coming back toward us.

InuYasha drew his sword again, but for once I was faster. I took a deep breath to keep my arm from shaking, and shot an arrow.

I hit it's wing. If it had been any sort of creature with flesh, it would not have been able to fly with that wing. Instead, as easily as it had come, it retreated back into the clouds.

***

Four dark figures knelt before their master.

Green eyes flashed, a contrast to long grey hair. The master hissed from behind thin lips. "A sacred arrow you say?"

The figure farthest left spoke, his head still bowed to the ground, With a low and raspy voice. "Yes, my Lord."

***

"Why, Kagome, would you run _toward_ the bombs!?" InuYasha yelled, still not giving the subject rest.

I sighed, ignoring him. If my answer hadn't been good enough the first ten times, then it wasn't going to be good enough the eleventh time either.

Since the attack, we had found the imprints of where the boulders had been, and it was clear that they had been pushed. The bird thing couldn't have done that _and _dropped bombs at us. If we should be talking about anything, it should be who might have attacked us!

Finally calling it a day, we had found a river at the end of the rock walls, and now had a fire going beside it. The sun was setting, and it would have been extremely peaceful if I didn't have a half demon yelling in my ear.

"Hmph. Well silence just makes you look even dumber—"

Shippo rushed to my defense. "Don't call her dumb InuYasha! You're the dumb-head!"

"You want to repeat that you little—!"

Miroku, walking back from the river beside Sango, cut into InuYasha prattling, probably as sick of it as I was. "So who do you think it was that attacked us?"

Sango looked up troubled. "That's a great question. Do you think whoever attacked us was after the blade?"

I looked at Akitoki, who was sitting across from InuYasha and I. He shifted uncomfortably, the purple cloth that concealed the blade still around him like a sash. What a burden, to carry the thing that had caused your family so much pain on your back.

"Well," said InuYasha from beside me, "I think we should just throw the blade away. If it's causing the problems, let's just get rid of it."

I was about to yell at InuYasha, but Akitoki didn't hesitate. "Throwing away the sword is not an option." He met InuYasha's eyes, not budging from his statement as InuYasha's eyes threatened to tear him to shreds.

"The sword is none of your business! It's a demon sword! Get it? It's not for you humans at all," InuYasha said, his voice condescending.

Akitoki sighed, but didn't lower his eyes. "If you want me to leave, that is fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"No!" I yelled, surprising us all. Akitoki was still wounded, and seemed worse after our hectic afternoon of running away from bombs. Whatever was out there he couldn't face alone. "InuYasha, sit!" The prayer beads around his neck glowed, and his face slammed to the ground. I hissed at him, icy words escaping my mouth. "I agreed to help Akitoki and I will, whatever you decide to do. So just let him be, or you can go search for jewel shards on your own."

I glanced at Akitoki, who looked somewhat taken aback, and then spun on my heel leaving them behind me.

InuYasha wasn't letting me go that easily. "Kagome!" He landed beside me yelling, but I didn't acknowledge him and kept up my brisk walk to the river. "You humans don't understand these matters at all do you?! The sword isn't meant for humans! He should throw it away, it doesn't make any difference to him who picks it up!"

"You're wrong. He's trying to do what is right."

"What's right!?" InuYasha looked at me disgusted. "It's a demon sword! How many times do I have to tell you!? Demons and humans just don't mix!"

I stopped for a second, shocked, before I could cover it up and keep walking. He'd _never _told me that before.

"Kagome," InuYasha started, and I turned around, hoping, even praying, that he would take it back. Then: "Wha?" He smacked his face and looked at his hand.

"InuYasha, is that any way to treat an old friend?" a familiar voice said from his hand.

"Myouga?" I asked, peering into InuYasha's hand.

"At your service," he said, bowing as well as a flea can bow. Sure enough, Myouga had flown into our little journey. How can I explain Myouga in two words? Cowardly flea.

***

Myouga, coward that he is, has a gift for explaining. So explain he did.

We sat around the fire as night was brought upon us, listening in wonder to the story Myouga had to tell. Akitoki has long since placed the sword in front of him, weary from the weight of it always on his back, and we were all staring at it in wonder.

"Now let me explain this in terms you can understand. The blade that Akitoki has here is called the Kon blade. When it is joined with its brother, the Ken blade, it forms the Naginata of Heaven and Earth—"

"What's a Naginata?" Shippo asked, wide eyed.

"Well," answered Miroku, "It's a kind of sword with blades on both ends and it is handled by holding the middle. It might look much like a pole, except the ends are curved blades."

"So one of the ends of the Naginata of Heaven and Earth is the Kon blade?"

"That's right Shippo," answered Myouga, "and if the Naginata gets into the hands of the wrong kind of demon, it could be very bad for us all."

Miroku nodded. "I feared as much."

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, there is a prophecy that follows the blade."

"Yes," said Akitoki, "'Death will saturate the air if the demon blade awakens once again. Then, only purity can cause their mighty reign to end.' But I never could understand who 'their' is, or whose reign it was."

"The reign that prophecy refers to is not only the reign of the Ken and the Kon blade, but their reign through a demon by the name of Hoshiyomi. Such measures were taken to keep the blade away from this demon, even after he was sealed, that one blade was put in the south, and the other in the north. Unfortunately, one of the blades was locked within Mt. Hakurei, and since the collapse of the mountain and it's spiritual aura, the blade has gone missing. We can only fear the worse."

InuYasha shrugged with a bored expression on his face. "So what? As far as you people are concerned, it sounds like the demon was already sealed."

"There is evidence that this is no longer true. Oh and InuYasha," Myouga looked up at him somewhat meekly "Totosai said that he wants you to seal the blade."

"What!! Since when did Totosai get into this?!"

"Well, it turns out that Kaijimbo forged the blade, so the blade is not really safe for any use from any demon. Plus, Totosai was the one who told me of this whole predicament."

I shifted in my seat. So Kaijimbo was behind this. Totosai specialized in making swords, and had been a good friend and a huge guide to InuYasha in dealing with the ___Tetsusaiga_. We had already crossed paths with Kaijimbo and killed him and ended his forgery of evil blades, but the blades he made, it seemed, had yet to leave us alone. If Totosai thought InuYasha should take care of the sword, it might mean that sealing the sword would teach him something more about the Tetsusaiga. In that case he couldn't refuse.

"So what? Man, why do I have to do it?" InuYasha's voice was now a pout, and his tone betrayed the fact that he would now follow through with it. Of course, that doesn't mean without complaint.

"Master InuYasha, Totosai told me specifically that no one but you can do it. Also, it might help to know that Hoshiyomi is the leader of the demon ninjas."

"Demon ninjas?" asked Shippo.

"Yes," Myouga said, "it is as bad as it sounds. Demon ninjas are demons taught in the ninja ways!"

"I wonder," said Sango, "if it was a demon ninja that attacked us."

Suddenly I had a flash back of the red bird, and the dark spot on its belly. "I thought that maybe a person was attached underneath that red bird. Could that have been a demon ninja?"

We looked at each other, knowing what that could mean. Hoshiyomi could already be on to us.

***********

I'm not thrilled about how this chapter came out, but I hope you enjoyed it! I'll make sure the next one is better :p Please review and tell what you though, good or bad I would love to hear it! ~Sango1157


	5. A Strange Man

A Strange Man

A shiver ran through me as I sat up, drowsily blinking at my companions who were still deep in sleep. On instinct I stretched my arms up and yawned, my body still exhausted from not getting a full nights rest. Since Myouga's story we had fallen into a much needed sleep. _What would ever possess my body to wake up at a time like this? _I complained to myself before I realized what was wrong.

The forest was silent. Everything was perfectly still, that is except for the rustling of the river beside us. If I learned anything from my travels it was that at night the forest is very much alive. To those of us who need quiet in order to sleep, the forest might as well be screaming.

The silence was banging in my ears as I looked over to InuYasha, debating to myself whether or not I should wake him up. If it turned out to be nothing, he would be ticked.

_But then again_—

I didn't have the chance to finish the thought. A bang erupted in the forest, emanating a bright light between the trees not too far from us. My heart sunk with sudden fear. Bombs. They had found us.

I will recount this night to the best of my abilities, for a mix of little sleep and great fear do not call for good observational skills. I do remember this; InuYasha was awake in seconds, promptly followed by the rest of the group. And, for maybe the first time in InuYasha's long lived life, the first thing he said was "RUN!"

And run we did. I quickly grabbed my yellow backpack, scooped Shippo in my arms, and ran away from the bombs. Honestly, it's a miracle I didn't trip. We were all in hysterics, trying to get a grasp on what was going on. I would think that the same two words were running through all our heads, _demon ninjas. _

We couldn't have been running for too long, probably a minute (which feels very long to sprint) because the bombs that had started falling behind us rapidly made up ground. I would love to tell you the expression on my companions faces around me, but I was too caught up with the running. Lifting my knees, sprinting through my toes, anything to go faster. Soon enough the bombs were licking at our heels—and then it all stopped.

Even after they stopped, my ears pounded with the sound of the bombs, and my eyes were blinded by the sudden darkness. The forest was still, filled with no sound but the pounding of my own heart and the sound of my companions heavy breathing as we stood in a clump. We stood in a sort of unkempt circle, all looking out in different ways for danger.

Then there was a rustling noise in the trees. I could feel the tension in our group rise immediately. It was in the trees, somewhere. Shippo lightly jumped out of my arms, perhaps by curiosity.

The rustling noise continued, surrounding us. It sound like children, silently running through the night in circles around us, their little feet barely touching the floor. The sound was definitely surrounding us, getting faster and faster, and closer and closer.

InuYasha, who I finally recognized as being beside me (remember how I warned you about how I was not very observant?) quietly drew his sword, so even I could barely hear the clash of the sword against the sheath as he drew it out. Then he whispered softly so only I could hear, "Kagome, when I say wind scar, grab Akitoki and run."

Well, he said it all right. Pretty much screamed it from what I can remember.

I turned to Akitoki and grabbed his arm, "Akitoki, we have to go!"

He looked surprised, but more than willing to get out of there. After all, whatever was around us was probably after him.

And then we fled. He caught up to me in no time at all, and most of our energy (well, mine at least) was carefully directed to not tripping over various types of roots. I felt my heart clench as I heard the others fighting in the background.

All my running wasn't enough. We had been running for a more than half a minute at full speed when I almost ran into him. He was standing in my path nonchalantly, as though the air was not ringing with shouts and the deadly clashings of swords.

He wasn't a particularly ugly man; he had long, light green hair that was thinner and flatter than InuYasha's but almost looked grey in the moonlight. He looked older but not old, he had very green eyes, and his features were handsome enough with a purple stripe through his forehead and on either side of his face. He was taller than I was, and wore a long, black cape giving off the appearance that he was even bigger than he was. He seemed strong and menacing, and his body was built like a fighter's. In fact, he might have been very handsome if not for the expression he wore on his face. For some reason he was staring straight at me. Somehow I knew he hated me.

I grabbed Akitoki's hand and ran in the other direction, futile as I knew it would be.

"Do you really think you can outrun me, priestess?" he spit out the word priestess like poison, his voice low and gravelly to make him seem all the more sinister.

Akitoki wrenched his hand out of mine and turned around. Apparently he had noticed the man's instant disliking to me too. "Why are you even concerned with her? I have what you want."

I looked at him alarmed. "Akitoki, quit being a hero! Let's go!"

Akitoki wasn't afraid to stand his ground, and it appeared like the man wasn't afraid to attack. I hated to undermine Akitoki's courage, but I did what I had to do. "INUYASHA! HELP!"

Akitoki glanced sharply back at me. After the fight they had last night I knew he would hate to admit that we needed the help of the half demon.

The man kept drawing out his blade and laughed. "Relying on a half demon to manage all your silly human problems. Humans disgust me."

I ignored him. "InuYasha! INUYASHA!"

The man was about to attack with that that ugly smirk plastered on his face when InuYasha ran up behind me.

"Kagome!" He sounded worried but annoyed. "I thought I told you to get out of here! Go!"

I took one last glance at the man and InuYasha before I looked at Akitoki, begging him to follow me. Then I ran for it. I have no idea what happened after that, expect InuYasha yelled my name with a ton of fear in his voice and the ground started shaking and splitting, carrying me with it. Then I was tumbling down into a ravine created by same river we had camped beside, and I before I could do anything I fell off a cliff straight for the dark, icy water.

There wasn't much time to fear death before I hit the water. I felt my ankle hit the water at an weird angle, and my side burned from being smacked by the water. I was completely submerged. I stretched my arms upward to find the surface, but my book bag fought against any sort of ascent. I slipped it off hoping I wouldn't regret it later, and tried to pull myself up while ignoring the pain searing through my ankle. At last I reached the surface, battling with the choppy waves to get a breath.

"Kagome!" I heard Akitoki's voice. "Get over here!"

I looked around wildly to see him hanging onto a branch that jutted out into the river with his hand reaching out to grab mine. After about ten seconds of struggling, we clasped hands.

"You okay?" Akitoki asked as he pulled me away from the current and into his chest.

I didn't want to worry him about my ankle, in which the pain had already begun to subside. "Umm, yeah. I think."

I tried to catch my breath, thankful that he was hanging onto me tightly enough that I could be sure the river wouldn't carry me off again. I tried to think of something to say that would ease the tension a little, and get our minds off the twenty foot fall we just made. If not for the sake of him, I certainly needed a distraction. "You know, I've never been cliff diving before," I said with a smile.

I could feel him start to relax as he tried to digest what I had just said.

"Cliff what?" he asked in bewilderment.

I didn't get to answer however, because the branch we were hanging onto broke. I guess we should have seen that coming.

"Crap," he sighed, releasing me.

The choppy water swallowed me up again, and I was back to battling the water for air when the river began to slow down. It took a second before the realization hit.

Waterfall.

We simultaneously realized it, but no amount of struggling would deny the current. We had already fallen once this night, but this time there was plenty of time to be afraid.

I couldn't help but picture my family back in Tokyo. Then I pictured InuYasha, almost hating myself for it. Still, I couldn't bear to say goodbye to any of them. Akitoki was slightly behind me, probably because he was more effective at fighting against the current.

I could just barely feel the ground as I neared the edge. I took a gulp of air, tried to propel myself forward a little using the ground despite my ankle, and covered my head. Then I was falling.

It all happened fast. The water around me seemed to stop moving as we both crashed at the same speed toward earth, and then suddenly I hit the water feet first and everything was moving again. I was thrust deep into a pool of water, and as soon as I could get a hold of myself at all, I started swimming forward away from the enormous pressure beating down on me. It felt like a long time before I broke to the surface, and by the time I reached the surface and gasped for air, my lungs were screaming. Moments later I heard Akitoki's gasp for air, and relief washed over me. We made it.

My first reaction was to be thankful that this waterfall hadn't been on a bed of rocks. As I was able to look around, I started to get a feel for how lucky we were. At the bottom of the waterfall, the river widened into a lazy pond before continuing its swift and narrow course. I could see my yellow book bag bobbing up and down close by. It must have followed us down the river.

I managed to dump my soggy backpack beside me after hobbling over to a log that looked over the pond. My ankle hurt to walk on, but it seemed to be fine when I didn't apply pressure. I didn't want to think about it.

Instead I watched the waterfall in a sort of daze. Thankfully it wasn't that large of a waterfall, but it seemed to be at least thirty feet tall. I felt Akitoki sit beside me and put his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder, still trying to calm down from the events. I had to grudgingly admit to myself that it was a beautiful sight, with the sun peeking over the horizon and the waterfall sparkling, seemingly innocent and graceful.

We were still both sopping wet and breathing hard, but I was glad to have someone here with me. I heard him expel a long sigh.

"Wow," he whispered.

"Wow," I agreed.

I guess this is one way to start the morning. Now we just had to hope that the others were okay.

How effective do you think my description of the waterfall and surrounding events were? Thanks for reading, feedback is always appreciated. Be ready for an update soon!


	6. Gotta Keep On Keepin' On

InuYasha skidded on his feet, lost balance, and flipped over a couple times before coming to a stop. As soon as he could, he jumped into a tree to see what the extent of damage the swing from the man's sword had done. It wasn't good; the earth was ripped apart and the end of the damage went all the way to the river, and Kagome and Akitoki were nowhere in sight.

"Kagome!" he cried out, but he had no time to see if the attack Hoshiyomi has thrown from his sword had killed her or Akitoki.

He landed back on the ground in a crouch and flexed his claws, his eyebrows etched into a deep frown. This time, there would be blood. With that, he turned to face his enemy.

O.O.O.O.O

I tried to put weight on my ankle and winced, to which Akitoki announced with a little smirk, "I suppose I'm just going to have to carry you."

We had decided together that it was sprained, so even with all the wrapping and medicine I put on it from my first aid kit, I still couldn't walk very far. I sighed and sat back down on the log beside Akitoki and returned the smile, "I hate being a burden, you know?"

"You're not," he said.

I grinned and looked away not knowing what to say for a moment, and then I decided it was time to talk business. "So, should the two of us head to Furae Shrine? I don't see another option."

He looked troubled at that thought, his two eyebrows etched together in contemplation. "I, well, it would be best if we could meet up with the others." He looked at me earnestly before letting his eyes drift to the ground, "With just two of us, the odds of survival go way down. I hate thinking I am getting you into danger. It's not exactly what I wanted, or envisioned."

There was a small silence. "Akitoki." I waited till he was looking at me before I went on, "I've been in danger before, and this mission is bigger than just the two of us." Then I smiled, "Plus, I have a couple tricks up my sleeve you might not know about."

He took a breath. "Are you sure?"

I grinned, "Yup! But not before we get some food in us."

The instant noodles were safe in the plastic bag I had stuck them in, so we ate noodles by the waterfall and put my pack in the sun so it would dry. After that, there was nothing to do besides to get going, so we smothered a fire and set off on a task we had originally intended on doing with six people. We might have been headed right for trouble, but by this point in my life that was nothing new. I felt at peace, at least for the moment.

With it just being Akitoki and I, especially considering Akitoki had to carry me on his back, the path went by much slower.

"I hope they are all okay," I said. I shuddered when I thought of that man I had nearly run into.

"They are good fighters, even your human friends. It would take quite the demon to take down a team like that."

"I know, I just worry. I thought everyone might have found us by now."

"I know. But Kagome, if someone could take down InuYasha when he's in a rage, I would not even want to be within a mile of them."

I felt a smirk on my face and relaxed a bit. "Thanks."

"How's your ankle doing?"

"It's okay when I don't have pressure on it. By tomorrow I imagine you can be relieved of your duty of carrying me!"

He sounded like he was smiling, "Kagome, I carry the weight of the Hojo family name on my shoulders. Believe me, I wish I could carry you instead."

Time kept silently ticking on, slowly but surely, and eventually we stopped for lunch just off the path. There was a newly fallen tree that we could sit on just under a tall canopy of leaves that the sun sprinkled though with little bursts of light. I decided it was time to finish off the instant noodles, and my lighter was still working, so before long we had a nice fire going, crackling away, which seemed to add to the pleasantness of it all. Also, it was nice to be able to sit and face Akitoki while I talked to him, as opposed to talking over his shoulder.

"So, what do you think?" I asked, regarding the instant noodles.

He grinned, "Well, Kagome, you really do have a couple tricks up your sleeve. I suppose man you will marry will eat well."

Despite my efforts, I felt my cheeks warm a little bit. The man I marry? What was he bringing that up for?

"Well, I don't have anyone like that," I said with a smile, but really I thought of InuYasha. He hated my cooking; well he hated my good, fresh cooking. He loved my instant noodles and all the other preservative filled food I brought from home. I never understood it. Yet, even as I thought about InuYasha and his reactions to my food, I hated myself for it. Just the other day he told me that humans and demons don't belong together. Plus, for all I know, he's still in love with another girl.

At what I said, Akitoki smirked and said, "I'm almost surprised."

I laughed. "Well what about you? Are you engaged?"

"Nah," he grinned, "I've got this burden thing I'm trying to get rid of first."

I laughed, "Oh really now?"

"You know," he said, almost contemplating what he was about to say, "if circumstances were different, I would be probably be pursing you right now. I'd jump at the chance to marry you someday."

I started at his openness, and my heart gave a little extra jolt as I remembered what I had learned before I came here. I tried to laugh off what he said as though it were a joke, but I was pretty sure it hadn't been a joke. Either way, someday Akitoki was going to marry someone named Kagome. The Hojo from my time had showed me that much on his family tree. Was it me? I needed to lighten up the mood, and quickly. "Oh yeah? Just wait till you hear me snore when I get a cold. That will send you running."

Thankfully, he laughed as well, and all was comfortable again for the most part. We sat in silence for a moment, the sun still sprinkling through the leaves of the forest canopy, dancing like little lightening bugs on the forest floor.

"Kagome, if it wasn't for the broken jewel shards and your mission bound to finding them, what do you think you would be doing right now?"

It was good question, and I let it stump me for a moment before replying, "I don't really know. I guess this always just felt like what I needed to be doing. At times, like now when I have no idea if they're safe or not, I wish things were a little calmer. When I'm cold and hungry, I wish for a warm fire and a bed. But, this life is sort of right for me. I'm not really sure. What about you?"

Hojo didn't take long to reply. "I would be studying, I think. Not fighting, I've never had a huge taste for violence." A little quieter he said, "I would probably be spending time with my family, my parents and my sister."

My heart clenched a bit as I finished the rest of my noodles. His parents were most likely dead, killed by the curse the sword seemed to carry. That much he had told me himself. What he hadn't told me was how much that was still tearing at him. I frowned, my determination at the task ahead rising quickly.

"We're going to purify this blade, Akitoki. Come on."

With no more reason to hang around, we began to get ready to continue the trek to Furae Shrine. I turned to limp over to my book bag when Akitoki caught my arm. I turned to look back at him, and was shocked to see him standing very close to me looking down at my face.

"Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"Just promise me, we'll _both_ try to be as safe as possible?"

I smiled and blushed, "Uh, okay."

I know, not the most brilliant thing I've ever said, but at least it got the point across.

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

Another unnatural blast of wind flew through the trees some distance away from them.

"They've been at it for a while," Shippo said as he sat quietly on top of Kirara.

"I know," said Sango gravely. "It doesn't sound too good, does it?"

InuYasha and Hoshiyomi had been fighting for a while. Usually these things didn't take long; InuYasha would just wave his sword and the work would be done. Apparently that wasn't going to cut it this time, it was getting to the afternoon and they still were at it.

"And on top of it, we have been searching for hours and we still have no idea where Kagome and Akitoki are," said Miroku. "Are we sure they were swept away by this river?"

They all peered down the river that they were briefly resting at, looking for any sign of the pair's survival. After a moment Sango broke the silence.

"I'm not really sure of anything," Sango said, sighing and putting her hands in her lap. "But we can't do anything helpful until we find that blade. The only good news is we know Hoshiyomi doesn't have it, as he seems a bit too preoccupied to go and get it at the moment."

A timely blast lightly shook the forest.

"True," said Miroku, "We just have to hope that he working alone."

O.O.O.O.O.O.O

The spot where Kagome and Akitoki had stopped for lunch now rustled around in the quiet breeze as though untouched by human hands. Untouched, that is, except a small photo of three girls smiling in a time yet to come. Slowly from the shadows, a dark, gloved hand reached out and grabbed the photo before the creature lowered itself to the forest floor. Silently three more creatures lowered themselves so that four heads looked down at the photo.

"Interesting," one of them murmured.

"Most," said another one.

"This could solve our problem of not being able to touch that sword," said the first hooded creature again.

"Puppets?" grinned another.

And they disappeared as silently as they had come.

O.O.O.O.O

Unfortunately, Kagome had a lot of time to think. Although her ankle was feeling better and she could walk slowly for about a half a mile at a time, she frequently still had to be carried on Akitoki's back if they were going to make any progress. The afternoon was wearing down to evening, and they were both tired and hot, which didn't leave a lot of energy for talking. Plus, as they neared whatever they were approaching, the danger of the situation became more and more real, which also meant that being as quiet as possible was crucial.

So, Kagome tried to concentrate on the sounds of the forest, and the light padding of their feet. This, of course, only worked for a half a minute as she tried to get away from the thoughts in her head. Akitoki was one heck of a guy, after all. He was kind, romantic, courageous, and _human_. He listened to her talk, and actually tried to hear what she was trying to say. The fear that had hit her when her Hojo from the present had showed her his family tree was not as great anymore. Someone would be lucky to marry this guy. Someone.

But her? Really? Of course InuYasha danced in her mind. He had been a real, well, _tool_ lately. It had been a long time since they had been truly nice to each other, probably a product of being too comfortable with each other that they weren't being as careful to say the right things. She knew that she cared about the guy, but she wasn't sure he would ever be ready to care for her back in the same kind of way. Yet, the InuYasha she first met who had tried to kill her was not the same anymore. He was softer, he laughed sometimes. She knew their journeys together had played a huge part in healing him, and she liked to think she was a part of that. And when he was being thoughtful, he was perfect. She thought of what he had said to her when they were camping by the river the other night, _'Demons and humans just don't mix!' _Did he really mean that? A lot of stuff he had said lately kind of suggested that to be true.

Feeling overwhelmed, she yet again tried to clear her mind and listen to the birds and creatures around her, continuing the relentless cycle. It was a little quieter than usual, she thought, but not unduly so.

Then, she heard some birds quickly flutter away as a three voices from behind shouted in unison, "Wait up!"

Her heat skipped a beat as Akitoki whirled around and dropped Kagome on her feet, and she immediately got her bow from her back and pointed it towards the voices. She was ready to release a deadly shot when three girls, right around her age, appeared right before them dressed in the classic kimonos of the feudal era. But their dress wasn't what made Kagome's jaw drop.

Their faces were shockingly familiar. In fact, she was sure it was a dead give-away for Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, her closest friends from the present. But that wasn't possible, was it? She looked at Akitoki who bore a faint resemble to Hojo of the present era. Did she really just run into her best friends' ancestors? She lowered her bow slightly towards the ground, not sure what to do. Akitoki glanced over at her paled face. "What, do you know them?" he asked in wonder.


End file.
